Seven people were killed and nine wounded in an al- Qaeda attack Wednesday in a crowded market in southern Yemen, state news agency SABA reported.
Gunmen set off an improvised explosive device targeting a military patrol in a market in the province of Abyan, dpa reported.
"Usually, they (al-Qaeda) do not attack soldiers when civilians are still around," a witness told the German Press Agency dpa.
The witness said the attack may have been "revenge" for the US killing of al-Qaeda's top leader Osama bin Laden early Monday in Pakistan.
One al-Qaeda militant was wounded in a gun battle after the blast, eyewitnesses said.